Bears Quick Shots: Bears continue to do the safety dance

Matt Trowbridge

Thursday

Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2009 at 9:40 AM

The Bears need safety help so badly they’ve tried to switch first Corey Graham and now Nathan Vasher from corner to free safety. Both are nice tries; Quick Shots singled out safety as Chicago’s co-No. 1 need before the draft, equal to receiver, and the Bears didn’t pick a safety until taking Al Afalava in the sixth round.

The Bears need safety help so badly they’ve tried to switch first Corey Graham and now Nathan Vasher from corner to free safety.

Both are nice tries; Quick Shots singled out safety as Chicago’s co-No. 1 need before the draft, equal to receiver, and the Bears didn’t pick a safety until taking Al Afalava in the sixth round.

Afalava has turned out to be a great pick, but he’s a strong safety and the Bears’ opening was at free safety. That’s where the Bears are now trying out Vasher and where they gave Graham a shot in OTAs and training camp. Current free safety Kevin Payne didn’t even defend the pass well for a strong safety.

The Bears should have kept Mike Brown, the second-leading tackler for Kansas City. Or, better yet, picked up one of the two other aging safety stars on the open market. Darren Sharper leads the NFL with six interceptions in New Orleans. Brian Dawkins is Denver’s second-leading tackler. Sharper and Dawkins have combined to make 11 Pro Bowls in 25 seasons and will likely both go again after leading dramatic defensive turnarounds for two of the NFL’s three 6-0 teams.

Chicago’s Cover 2 defense doesn’t work without smart safety play.

Vasher enjoys safety switch

Vasher, a forgotten man at cornerback, relishes his new opportunity to play safety.

“I love playing football,” said Vasher, who started his first five years for the Bears before getting beat out by Zack Bowman this year. “I’m a football player. I’ll do anything. It’s just like when you are young. That’s all you want to do, is play. It doesn’t matter what position. You just want to help the team win.

“I don’t think a person has to be labeled as whatever that position is at the time. It’s all about playing football.”

Vasher could end up replacing Kevin Payne, a former strong safety miscast at free safety with Afalava taking over his old spot.

“A game is a whole lot different than whatever you might see in practice, so I’m learning on the fly,” Vasher said.

Tillman speaks from the heart

Bears cornerback Charles Tillman spent his off day Tuesday in Washington testifying to Congress about the importance of infant heart technology. His daughter Tiana was born 18 months ago with cardiomyopathy. Tiana became the first recipient in Illinois of the Berlin Heart, a computerized device that helps the heart function, keeping her alive until a donor heart became available.

Tillman enjoyed the chance to help, but said it “stinks” that his celebrity gives him a bigger voice. “I met a couple of moms there and said, ‘Your stories are just as good as mine. What makes mine better? Just because I play football.’ It’s sad that because of what I do, people want to listen more. If you have a good story, everybody should listen.”

Lecture and answer session

Speaking of listening, Tillman said questions from Congress gave him a new appreciation for the sports media.

“One guy must have talked for 30 minutes, then asked a question,” Tillman said. “I wasn’t used to politician questions. It’s a new appreciation for you all, you (darn) skippy. He talked for 12 minutes, then asked a question. I don’t know how President Obama does it. I was like, ‘What? You lost me two sentences ago.’ ”